Displaying items by tag: UK

UK: David Ball Group has run a series of trials with Bouygues UK of its Cemfree concrete product at a redevelopment scheme at the Gascoigne Housing Estate in Barking, London. The group says that the trial went ‘exceptionally’ well and teaming Cemfree with Bouygues UK further down the line on future projects looks ‘hopeful.’ Cemfree is a low carbon concrete made using ground blast furnace slag (GGBS).

“We are always looking for new ways to innovate, and the carbon-saving potential of Cemfree is considerable. Initial trials have been very positive and we will continue to explore its potential as a sustainable alternative to traditional concrete – a hugely exciting possibility,” said Jean-Marie Perret, a project manager for Bouygues UK, who is leading the Cemfree trials for the Gascoigne Estate.

UK: Gary Brennand has been appointed as the Group Commercial Manager at David Ball Group. He has worked in the construction materials industry for 17 years, starting his career as an aggregates and asphalt technician before moving on to commercial, operational and general management roles in companies such as Aggregate Industries, Hope Cement and the Breedon Group. Brennand holds an MBA in Business Administration.

Europe: Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a European steel company by merging their flat steel businesses in Europe and including ThyssenKrupp’s steel mill. The proposed 50:50 joint venture will have its headquarters in Amsterdam and will be able to supply around 21Mt/yr of flat steel products.

“The Tata Group and ThyssenKrupp have a strong heritage in the global steel industry and share similar culture and values. This partnership is a momentous occasion for both partners, who will focus on building a strong European steel enterprise. The strategic logic of the proposed joint venture in Europe is based on very strong fundamentals and I am confident that ThyssenKrupp Tata Steel will have a great future,” said N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Steel.

The merger will create the region’s second largest steel producer after ArcelorMittal. Cost synergies of up to Euro600m/yr are expected through the integration of commercial functions, research and development and other supporting activities. In addition to this, ThyssenKrupp Tata Steel would seek to improve capacity utilisation of the network across the three hubs of Ijmuiden in the Netherlands, Duisburg in Germany and Port Talbot in the UK and their related downstream facilities.

UK: Ecocem Ireland has officially opened its import terminal at Sheerness. The company’s second terminal in the UK is set to supply the construction market in the southeast and London. The unit cost is Euro2.9m to build and it will be able to supply the market with 250,000t/yr of the company’s slag cement products.

It follows the opening of Ecocem’s terminal at Runcorn in early 2016 and it joins facilities in the Ireland, the Netherlands and France.

“Our second investment into the UK in a state of the art import facility demonstrates to the market the need for the low carbon cement alternative and the growing demand from the UK construction industry. We have already engaged in long term agreements with major concrete manufacturers in the UK and will continue to build momentum in the coming months,” said Micheál McKittrick, the managing director of Ecocem Ireland.

UK: Kostas Koutselas has been appointed as the Group Technology Manager at David Ball Group. Previously he worked in senior technical and research roles for Aggregate Industries, Unibeton and Fosroc, including international positions in Dubai and Qatar.

UK: Hanson has re-opened its ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) grinding plant at Teesport Docks in Middlesbrough. Euro2.4m has been spent on starting up the plant again and 20 new jobs have been created.

The plant was mothballed in 2009 following the financial crisis in 2007. A continuing upturn in construction activity prompted Hanson to return to the site in 2016 and prepare it for re-opening. Slag for the plant will now be imported following the closure of a local steel plant.

“It has taken nine months to get up and running again. One of the main problems we had to overcome was to replace all the copper wiring, which had been meticulously stripped out by thieves,” said site manager Duncan Felgate.

Hanson sells its ground granulated blast furnace slag under the Regen brand name and operates a further two UK production plants at Purfleet in Essex and Port Talbot in south Wales.

UK: David Ball, founder of the Cambridge-based David Ball Group, has announced he is standing down from the board and operational activities. Ball, who has been chairman of the company for 46 years, said that he will now focus on ‘other interests.’ Ball’s daughter, Victoria Ball will join the board as a non-executive director.

“My business interests have always been driven by the needs of the market and pressing global issues: sustainability, a major concern of our time, drove me to co-invent Cemfree. I will continue to pursue my interests, both in the construction arena and in the area of ethical business practice, which has long been a passion. I am confident that the business will continue to grow and prosper in this exciting new phase,” said Ball.

Ball founded the company in 1970, focusing on special sands and cements. David Ball Group developed Pudlo into a concrete waterproofing systems and invented Cemfree, a low carbon concrete made using ground blast furnace slag (GGBS).

UK: Francis Flower’s logistics partner, Turners, has added 18 new vehicles to its fleet to help support the production of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) at its Scunthorpe grinding plant. The new vehicles will carry out a variety of tasks, including tramping and day deliveries from Scunthorpe. The DAF vehicles, a mix of eight XF 440 FTP and 10CF 440 FTP models with light mid-lift axles and all fitted with Space Cabs, will be coupled with 18 new, specialised Feldbinder bulk powder tankers on the GGBS work across the UK.

UK: Breedon has agreed to acquire the Sherburn Minerals Group for a total consideration of up to Euro18.4m, subject to completion adjustments. The acquisition will add Sherburn’s two terminals in northeast England and eastern Scotland, that are used to import cement and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), to Breedon’s Hope cement plant.

Sherburn is an independent heavyside building materials business headquartered in County Durham, employing approximately 110 people. It operates four quarries and five ready-mixed concrete plants in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Cumbria. It also distributes cementitious products from two import terminals at Blyth near Newcastle and Dundee in eastern Scotland.

Following completion of the acquisition Paul Allison, Sherburn’s current Managing Director and a minority shareholder, will remain with the business as a consultant.

UK: Rio Tinto’s production of titanium dioxide slag has fallen by 24% year-on-year to 246,000t/year in the first quarter of 2016. The company said that its Iron and Titanium division had optimised production in line with demand. It reported that two of nine furnaces at Fer et Titane, Canada and one of four furnaces at Richards Bay Minerals, South Africa are currently idled due to low demand for high-grade feedstocks.

"In the face of a testing external environment, our focus remains on delivering further cost and productivity improvements, disciplined capital management and maximising free cash flow, to ensure that Rio Tinto remains strong," said chief executive officer Sam Walsh. Production in iron ore, bauxite and aluminium increased in the quarter but production in copper and coal decreased.